This is the Third installment of The Athletic KC’s Beyond The Arm series, discussing the reality that most people tend to only talk about Patrick Mahomes’ strong arm when discussing his potential as a quarterback. Because of that, they miss many other traits that are much more predictive of NFL success. In our first two installments, we discussed his strong eye level, pocket presence, and ball placement. This week, we’re tackling Mahomes’ quick release.

Sometimes, a half second can be incredibly crucial. (For example, last week I was merely half of a second too late to stop my two-year-old son from crawling inside of a chicken coop covered in chicken crap. Don’t ask why we have a chicken coop…or why my son wanted to be inside of one.) An NFL game is one of those times. The reason for this is that NFL defenders read and react so quickly. When quarterbacks are just squaring their shoulder and beginning their throwing motion, defenders are already breaking on...